Freshmen only get course credit if they walk 10,000 steps a day

Freshmen at Oral Roberts University must wear a FitBit health tracker and maintain a level of fitness to pass their course.

We have seen a number of companies using fitness trackers and rewards to encourage their employees to live a healthy lifestyle and minimize health insurance premiums. Now, Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma is adopting the tactic with its students. The Tulsa-based school is integrating wearable tech into its physical fitness curriculum for all prospective students.

Students enrolled in the school’s Whole Person Education program will each be required to buy a FitBit wearable watch, and track their aerobic points and fitness with it. The high-tech upgrade is of a traditional requirement of the course, which previously required students to manually log their fitness routine using a journal. The students’ daily steps and heart rate will automatically be recorded using Brightspace — a learning management system — which will earn them points for their course. Students won’t earn the course credits unless they walk 10,000 steps each day.

How else could tracking technology be integrated into college education, and optimize the experience that students get out of it?